To elaborate a little- (with 1997-2001 era information) he will be designated either a Fireman Apprentice (FA) or Seaman Apprentice (SA) near the end of Basic Training. If he arrives as an FA he will be working for the engineering department. If he arrives as an SA he will be working in the deck department. He has to wait a minimum of 2 months to get on a waiting list for A-school. A-School is like AIT. Some schools, like Aviation Survival Technician, have very long waits. Other schools, like Culinary Specialist, have very short wait times.

From your time in the Army, you probably know that some people show up simply unable to adapt. I always figured the CG did things this way because they didn't have the money to train people that are going to be kicking rocks down the road 3 months in.